Why Jesus (if he existed) Ain't Comin' Back -The Bible Version.

Most Christians believe that Jesus will return one day to save them from us godless heathens and "take them up into the clouds"--but if they actually read their bibles they would realize that it ain't gonna happen.  Nope, never.  See the following excerpt from our book which explains why:

"Although Christianity was practiced shortly after the supposed “death” of Jesus Christ, in the Roman Empire it only became a driving force via the influence of the Roman Emperor, Constantine I (272-337 CE), and those that came after him. Before Constantine in the first century CE, there is little written record of those who practiced Christianity. The reasons why probably stem from the fact that the few followers of Christ at that time believed that Jesus would return "within their lifetimes," as Jesus said he would:

“When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Matthew 10:23

“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Matthew 16:27-28

“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” Matthew 24:34

If the followers of Jesus believed he would return within their lifetimes and they would soon be entering the Kingdom of Heaven, then they had no reason to record anything, or paint pretty pictures. Most likely it is for this reason that the first century CE gives us almost no evidence of Christian art, history, or literature. This was a 30-40 year gap in time where virtually nothing was recorded until the gospel of Mark, and this makes sense if believers in Jesus believed his return was imminent. Instead of writing and painting pretty pictures, believers probably spent their time getting themselves ready for Jesus' supposed imminent return.

Christian Apologists attempt to explain the above passages from Matthew by claiming that Jesus was explaining events that "had not yet happened." This is true of course, but the scriptures make it clear that these events that "had not yet happened" were supposed to have happened within the lifetimes of the apostles. Apologist explanations fail, as their claims that events "not happened yet" could happen at any time, and "no one knows the day or the hour" (Matt 25:36), do not take into consideration that Jesus is speaking only in the context of "THEM," i.e., his disciples. Jesus also says in the text to, "Watch out that no one deceives YOU." (Matt 24:4), which is ironic, as Jesus fails to include all future generations in this warning. Why? Because there was no need to do so, as Jesus believed he would return within the generation of his disciples. As Matthew 24 continues, Jesus made this clear in a way most won't recognize, when he stated that when he returned:

"Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." Matt 24:41

In these passages, Jesus was speaking directly to his apostles and in the context of his society, which is very important to recognize if one considers the above passage to be a prophetic message--which many do. The above passage speaks of primitive hand mills which are not used in the modern world except perhaps in remote areas of Africa, which leads us, via Ockham's Razor, to the best conclusion concerning this narrative. Considering his language, and to whom he was speaking, and the prophetic signs he made of his return, it is clear that Jesus expected to return within the generation of his disciples as he said he would, but he did not know exactly what time that would be. (Although, since he is claimed to be one with God, which means he would have been all-knowing, his time of return SHOULD have been known to him.) In the Bible, as in the dictionary, a generation is a generation after all--not 2000 or more years. Therefore, the time for the supposed return of Jesus Christ has long passed, and is a "failed prophecy."

So there you go--Biblical proof that Jesus ain't comin' back. 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/270873

Why Would Death be Pleasing to a God in that he Requires a Living Blood Sacrifice, When he is Said to Love “Living” Beings?

This is from a series of twenty questions at the back of the book I am almost finished (editing is taking longer than I thought)  The answers come from a rational as well as a Christian perspective, and are meant to be though provoking, as well as offering better rationalizations.

Chapter 2 - Why Yahweh is Not Against Abortion

This is a short excerpt from Chapter 2 dealing with abortion.  The chapter goes into much greater detail to explain why the Christian god is not against abortion at all.  The following is just one of many explanations:

If we consider that according to Christianity, the Christian god is all knowing, then the Christian god knows if a fetus will grow into an evil monster. Perhaps then the same reasoning Christians apply to the biblical slaughters of pregnant mothers and their fetuses (Deuteronomy 20:16-18) can be applied to aborted fetuses as well. i.e., The Christian explanation for the slaughter of the Canaanite fetuses is that they could have grown to be evil monsters if they were allowed to live, so the Christian god orchestrated their termination because, as Christians tell me, God knows best "in the larger sense." So just like the Canaanite children could have grown to be evil monsters if they were allowed to live--which is why Yahweh allowed them to be slaughtered--so could the aborted fetuses of today have grown to be evil monsters, and therefore, the Christian god did not allow them to be born. Furthermore, if we take into consideration the above Christian explanation of the slaughter of the Canaanite children, the question then arises as to why the Christian god allowed "evil monsters" such as Hitler to be born in the first place--who then went on to kill more than 6 million of his "chosen people" (Jews) in the Holocaust of WWII. It makes no logical sense that an all-good, all knowing, and all powerful god would kill an entire group of "potentially evil" people in the Bible, but fail to eliminate the fetus of one of the worst mass murderers in human history--the murderer of his own so-called "chosen" people. 

If Yahweh exists, he would know, and since he knows, why would he not get rid of someone like Hitler? Since the Bible tells us that "...EVERY decision is from the Lord" (Proverbs 16:33), this would be his will--according to what the Bible tells us. According to the Bible, everything is determined by God, i.e, allowing evil monsters to live (instead of killing the potentially evil fetus) and abortion.  Ironically, Christians claim abortion to be the murder of the innocents--making Yahweh a murderer of the innocents.

Chapter 1 Part 2 - What Good is Christianity??

In this second excerpt from Chapter 1, we examine so-called "Christian contributions" to society:

The ancient religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism have certainly influenced the Abrahamic faiths and their history, and it is through this history that we also come to understand why and how Christianity has became one of the most dominant faiths in our society, as opposed to any of the other religions. It is also important to note that many so-called "learned Christians" of today such as David Aikman, are blissfully unaware of the history of their religious beliefs, as they adamantly proclaim Christianity should be credited with promoting "tolerance" and "freedom of thought,"¹ when we have just pointed out that this is not the case at all. Christianity is not so much about freedom of thought and tolerance as it is about control and manipulation.

In reference to any so-called "contributions" to society Christianity may have made, most were mere tokenism, and other so-called contributions were made with another agenda in mind.

Consider what Dinesh D'Souza posits in his book, "What's So Great About Christianity" :

The "Dark Ages" were the consequence of Roman decadence and barbarian pillage. Slowly and surely, Christianity took this backward continent and gave it learning and order, stability and dignity. The monks copied and studied the manuscripts that preserved the learning of late antiquity. Christopher Dawson shows in "Religion of Western Culture" how the monasteries became the locus of productivity and learning throughout Europe. Where there was once wasteland, they produced hamlet, then towns and eventually commonwealths and cities. Through the years the savage barbarian warrior became a chivalric Christian knight, and new ideals of civility and manners and romance were formed that shape our society to this day." p. 43

In actuality, the people at that time were far from being "backwards." In fact, the some of the women were so adept at healing, the church found them to be a threat to their power  and persecuted them (i.e., the "witches"); the monks were busy writing only in Latin, so the general population would have no access to it (keeping the power in the hands of the clergy); and the so-called "chivalrous knights" were responsible for untold killing and torture during the Crusades and Inquistitions. This is not to say Christianity has not made any contributions to society. Some argue we would not have hosptials, orphanges, and universities if it were not for the Christians in the world--but at what cost? Was it worth it to murder all the medicine women so that men could take over their duties and create "hospitals" where millions more died of infection before they figured out they needed to wash their hands? (Something the medicine women already knew.) Was it worth it to create orphanages where children lived lives of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of priests and nuns? Was it worth it to teach only a select few in universities and keep the general populace ignorant for centuries? I do not think so. Christian contributions to society are minor in comparison to the misery it has caused.  In fact, if it were not for the supression of many artists, scientists, philosophers, healers, and others who went against church dogma and were either tortured or killed because their "contributions" threatened church hierarchy, we might be much further ahead today in the realms of science, medicine, art, and morality--were it not for Constantine and his cohorts.

1. The Delusion of Disbelief: Why the New Atheism Is a Threat to Your Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness, David Aikman, p. 40

The next post will be an excerpt from Chapter 2 - The Enigma Known as Yahweh

Chapter 1 - Why Christianity is Responsible for the Dark Ages

In the coming weeks we will be posting excerpts from our book, "Consequences of Christianity." This is an excerpt from Chapter 1.  In this chapter, after explaining the relationships between the various gods of the Middle East and Asia, we go on to explain how the library in Alexandria Egypt influenced Christianity. Enjoy!

 Reasons for the similarities between the various gods could be found at one time in the immense library located in Alexandria, Egypt. This is due to the fact that in ancient times before Christ, there was a great deal written and recorded on the various religions of the known world, and much of this knowledge was, at one time, stored in this library. It was a library built of marble, and it was said to be incredibly beautiful, with statues, and pictures everywhere; and was also said to contain an incredible 400,000 volumes of written work. In fact, it eventually grew so large, that an additional library was created in the temple of Serapia, which was said to contain an additional 300,000 volumes. The one time Hellenistic ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy Sotor (367-283 BC), and his son Philadelphius, founded this library with the purpose of the continued perpetuation, increase, and diffusion of knowledge. To do this, the chief librarian, at the king's expense, was ordered to buy as many books as possible. Any books brought into Egypt were then taken to the museum where they were meticulously copied by transcribers before being given back to the owners. After paying a fee to the book owner, these copies were then placed in the library.

The library not only contained thousands of volumes divided into the four faculties of literature, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, there were also botanical and zoological gardens used to facilitate the study of plants and animals, as well as an astronomical observatory containing globes, astrolabes, and other instruments that were then in use. The library also served as a place of instruction where lectures were held. Intellectuals and students from all over the known world would congregate there, and it is said that at one time there was no fewer than 14,000 people in attendance. Some of the most eminent fathers of the Christian church such as Origen and Athanasius were also familiar with the great library.¹

Many of these intellectuals who frequented the library became familiar with Buddha, Mithra, Krishna, Horus, and a host of other gods and goddesses who were worshiped by other known nations. Tragically, this magnificent library was burned during the siege of Alexandria (48 BCE) by Julius Caesar. To make amends for this action, Marc Antony, during his reign of the empire (40-30 BCE), presented Cleopatra with the second largest collection of works in the known world; the plundered library collection of Eumenes, King of Pergamus. It was not to last however, as in the year 391, Roman Emperor Theodosius I ordered the destruction of all non-christian temples, and the Christian patriarch Theophilus, gladly complied by destroying all pagan temples and the library at Serapia.² The destruction of this vast library by Christians was a death blow to free thought for more than a thousand years. To add insult to injury, a church was then built on the foundation of Serapia in honor of the “noble martyrs” (i.e. Christians) who never existed.³

The Christian “saint” (and I use the term loosely) Cyril who succeeded Theophilus, struck the final death blow to free thought when he had his monks and his assistant Peter the Reader, brutally murder the brilliant female philosopher/scientist Hypatia (350?-415 CE), who was the daughter of the mathematician and last curator of the Alexandrian library, Theon of Alexandria (335-405 CE). On her way to one of her lectures, Hypatia's chariot was mobbed by monks, and she was dragged into a church where she was killed by the club of Peter the Reader. Her corpse was then cut into pieces, the flesh scraped from her bones with shells, and the remnants thrown into the fire. Cyril was never called to account for this barbarism, as according to them the “ends justified the means,” and the “means” was to eradicate free thought in favor of religious indoctrination. By 414 CE, the intellectual “Dark Ages” was in full swing, culminating in the prohibition of teaching, and the closing of all schools in Athens by the emperor Justinian (529 CE).⁴

1. Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions, TW Doane., p. 440;

2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria#Decree_of_Theodosius.2C_destruction_by_Theophilus_in_391

3. Bible Myths and Their Parallels in Other Religions, TW Doane, p. 440

4. Ibid., 441

In My Absence...

In my absence, I have been working on a project which is on the verge of completion.  It will be available to the public within a month or so, but I thought in the meantime, I would offer a few excerpts.  The first one will be on the subject of faith:

Faith, especially in the religious sense, is nothing more than hope or a belief in something without any facts or “knowledge” to substantiate those beliefs, or as Nietzsche posited, "Not wanting to know what is true." While wisdom is acquired through the knowledge and experience we gain in life, faith requires nothing more than the will to believe. The Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard once said, "If I am capable of grasping God objectively, I do not believe, but precisely because I cannot do this I must believe,"¹ which he believed was an adequate explanation for his faith. Because there is no evidence, Kierkegaard believed that faith is all that was required to be a Christian. Many Christians today however, feel otherwise, which may be due to the increased pressure from non-theists to find reasons and evidence to support religious beliefs of all types.

Faith in any case, is only good if it is faith in the right thing. One can have faith in flying pink elephants, and swear they are real through faith alone, but that won't make them real. To be real, there must also be some verifiable knowledge of flying pink elephants such as: “How big are they? Are they light pink or are they dark pink? Do they fly at night, during the day, or both? Where is the best place to see a flying pink elephant? Do you have any photos of a flying pink elephant? Has anyone else seen these pink flying elephants? And so on.

Besides religious faith, other types of faith also play apart in our lives. Women in abusive relationships for example, can have "faith" that their mates will one day stop beating them--but faith will not stop the beatings. These types of scenarios are examples of having faith in a "bad thing." It is only action that can only stop the cycles of abuse; on the part of the mate who makes a conscience decision to stop, and/or on the part of the woman who makes a conscience decision to leave. To be abused over and over again, keeping the "faith" that it will one day stop, more often than not ends in tragedy .It is having faith in a "bad thing."

Having faith and believing that god will somehow "do the right thing," such as stopping spousal abuse, or stopping the murder of the "chosen people of God" by the Nazis in WWII--has not stopped women from being killed by their partners, nor did it save 6 million Jews from being gassed to death by the Nazis.  These are just a few examples that illustrate that faith without evidence can be dangerous.  It is only action which brings about the right or the wrong thing--not faith.

This is but a short excerpt, from one section of my project. Much of this section also deals with having faith in the "right" things.  The entire project deals with the consequences of the Christian religion on society, and I will be posting more excerpts on subjects dealing with the attributes of the gods of Christianity, and the abuses-both known and unrealized--that can be attributed to this bizarre belief system.